Norwich Boot and Shoe Industry

The Story of the Norwich Boot and Shoe Trade

Winner of the East Anglian Book of the Year 2013 History and Tradition section.

In the years leading up to WWII the Norwich boot and shoe trade employed over 10,000 people, a staggering 15% of the total workforce, making it the City’s premier industry. Firms such as P. Haldinstein & Son, Edwards & Holmes, the Norvic Shoe Co. and Sexton, Son & Everard were all forces to be reckoned with. Yet by the end of the century these mighty companies along with many of their competitors had floundered and failed.
This raises many questions. Not least of which is: Why? But it is also important to ask: What was it like working in the shoe factories? What shoes were made? Who were the major companies? What is their legacy?
The best people to answer such questions are those who worked in the factories. In this book their fascinating commentaries have been interwoven with archive material, photographs and contemporary newspaper reports to tell the engrossing story of the Norwich boot and shoe trade.
An industry which for many years was the heart and ‘sole’ of the City.